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Jessica Wyrsch from Davos has been working in the event industry for more than 10 years. She is the co-founder of Vermena, a company specialising in carbon offsetting for events. In our interview, Jessica provides valuable insights into this topic.
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Jessica, how did you get involved in sustainability at events?
That's an interesting question! My fascination with sustainability in events was sparked by a number of factors. First of all, events accounted for 10% of all global emissions in 2020 - that's a huge amount. At the time, it was mainly international conferences that contributed to this, due to the high level of travel by attendees*.
Sustainability is therefore a hot topic, especially in the EU. For example, there has been a new law (CSRD law) since the beginning of this year, which obliges companies above a certain size to produce a sustainability report. I found this very exciting and thought about how this will play out in the event world.
The decisive moment, however, was when I was working at a conference that focused on sustainability. There I saw impressive examples and best practices on how to make events more environmentally friendly. This inspired and motivated me to take a closer look at this topic and consider how I could contribute to making events more sustainable myself.
Since then, I have continued my education, exchanged ideas with experts and integrated sustainable concepts into my own work. It is incredibly satisfying to see how small changes can have a big positive impact and how awareness of sustainability is growing in the event industry.
What motivated you to work with Vermena to help companies calculate sustainability reports?
Anyone who works in the event world knows how many resources are consumed at events and the impact this has on the environment. Events also say a lot about a company's image. As soon as we see a plastic cup at an event, we judge the company and are quick to say "they're not as sustainable as they say they are". But there are a lot of factors to consider that are not always visible to the eye.
A few more points that were crucial:
Each event is unique, so calculating emissions seems like a big challenge. How do you go about it?
Our approach to calculating emissions involves several steps to ensure that we perform the most accurate and comprehensive analysis possible:
By taking this structured approach, we can ensure that event emissions are calculated as accurately as possible and provide event organisers with valuable insights and recommendations on how to make their events more sustainable.
Will requiring attendees to provide travel information be a barrier to event registration?
For participants, this data is collected relatively unobtrusively, and participants are often not even aware that there are sustainability questions on the event registration form. Nevertheless, participants are willing to act in an environmentally responsible manner and even see it as positive that the organiser is actively addressing environmental issues.
From the organiser's point of view, the effort to generate information for CO2 calculations is minimal. A good analysis is often done with 1-2 questions in the event registration.
Since the pandemic, the number of physical events has increased dramatically. On the other hand, almost every company has learned to hold events online. What do you recommend when it comes to choosing an event format from a sustainability perspective?
Choosing an event format with sustainability in mind should be carefully considered, as both physical and online events have their own environmental footprints and benefits. Here are some recommendations to help you make a sustainable decision:
Online events are ideal for events where the primary purpose is knowledge transfer, networking, or training and participants are geographically dispersed. Online events eliminate travel emissions and significantly reduce energy consumption.
Physical events are useful when face-to-face interaction, hands-on workshops, or the networking experience is critical.
One option is to organise hybrid events. This can combine the best of both formats by integrating both physical and virtual elements. Participants can choose to attend in person or online, increasing flexibility and reach while reducing environmental impact.
By calculating the carbon footprint of both formats, you can compare the environmental impact. Although online events have a lower carbon footprint because they avoid travel and lodging emissions, the emissions are not zero. It is important to do a good analysis of what you as an organiser want to achieve with the event and to make conscious decisions.
Can you give us some simple examples of how event managers can address sustainability?
Sure, here are a few good examples of how you can easily incorporate sustainability into events:
Sustainability measures for physical events:
Technological efficiency for online events:
Can you give us examples of where you have already implemented such measures?
In our report, which is automatically generated by the platform, we give direct recommendations on how to minimise the event's carbon footprint. Good examples are the reuse of furniture, the choice of materials, or it can be as simple as showing how many emissions can be saved by opting for a buffet instead of served meals.
How can sustainability success be measured?
This is a great question because there are many ways to measure success.
Here are some key methods and metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts:
How do you see the future of sustainability in the events industry? What trends and developments do you anticipate?
The future of sustainability in the events industry will be driven by technological innovation and increasing stakeholder pressure. Advanced software solutions for accurate emissions calculation and real-time tracking will enable event organisers to make more sustainable decisions and continuously improve their performance. At the same time, increasing expectations from customers, regulators and investors will drive demand for greener practices. As a result, the events industry will become increasingly transparent and sustainable, giving companies a competitive edge and a positive public image.
Jessica, thank you very much for this exciting interview. We wish you a lot of success with Vermena.
* Source: Tao, Y., Steckel, D., Klemeš, J. J. & You, F. (2021). Trend towards virtual and hybrid conferences may be an effective climate change mitigation strategy. Nature Communications.
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